Johannisnacht Weekend 2014

The Johannisnacht Festival is the highlight of the summer here in Mainz, with a giant carnival/food/drink extravaganza. They set up along the bank of the Rhine river and everything spills into the center of town as well. Luckily it lasts all weekend, and even runs into this evening as well, ending with fireworks. Last year I was flying back to the U.S. which caused me to miss all but the first day, so I was excited to experience more of the fun this time around.

Matt and I have gone every day. It's been awesome.

The first day we split a roast beef sandwich, with some kind of tomato-y sauce on the roll. Great sandwich all around.

Next we wanted to try the "spiciest currywurst in the world." There were various levels of heat we could try, and their corresponding scoville ratings. Matt settled on level 5 out of 7 (they went up to 10, but they were so hot that they explained they were not allowed to sell it!).

Matt asked for it in German, and upon hearing it, the lady immediately switched to English and said, quite dubiously, "that's pretty hot, are you sure?" And she continued to smirk the entire time she prepared it (and fries for me - I wasn't too terribly interested in this level 5 business).

I mean, they have the sauces of death all lined up here...

Check out the amount of sauce that currywurst is covered in. Totally ridiculous. Even more ridiculous? It was so hot that my husband "I'm-from-Texas-and-love-spicy-food" Matt was only able to eat maybe 25%.

And I tried one piece. It was a stupid thing to do. I was careful not to get it anywhere near my lips. But my tongue still burned. The fries were really great though - and yes, that is ketchup AND mayo. Mayo on fries is huge here and I am totally a convert.

One of the ways we got the spice out was with some drinks. After walking it off for awhile, Matt and I had a beer (for him) and Aperol Spritz (for me).

Much better than that currywurst. Bleh.

I meant to get a picture when this was full, but Matt and I later shared some noodles while we listened to a band with John and Susan.

The band was really good, too. It was what I'd call a Bavarian rock band in that they had two guitars, drums, and the main guy was killing it on an accordion. Lederhosen were worn as well. Nice.

Mmm, wine.

The second day we had plans to meet up with a group of people and I had a hankering for currywurst that was NOT the spiciest in the world. Much tastier, too. Mayo + ketchup = good times.

 I stuck to weinschorles the entire day, while Matt had wheat beers.

After hearing about Matt's experience with the spicy currywurst, John had to try it too. He made it much farther than Matt and even finished it (with a little help from some of our unsure friends), but it should be mentioned that the amount of sauce that Matt had was much more than what John got. I took a picture of him as he was eating it, but I'll spare you all from seeing how painful and sweaty he was. Even still - a valiant effort.

Later during the day we got our raclette. It's a delicious treat of slowly melting and bubbling cheese that is scraped off the top of a large block and gingerly placed on a crusty baguette slice. No picture - these are often devoured immediately.

Here's a few shots from the top level where things are a little more calm and less crowded. We found a nice shady table and bench and hung out for awhile, sharing some pretzel with spundekas.

 Remember how I said I was sticking to the weinschorle? Well... not so with some of our large group. Someone discovered how delicious the long island iced teas were at the stand nearby, and buzzed picture taking soon ensued.

On the way back from the fest that evening, Matt expressed interest in a ham sandwich, while I gobbled up another portion of those noodles. This is him getting some mustard.

 Schinken = ham

 Definitely really hammy.

The next day (yesterday), Matt and I took it easy and actually got stuff done around the house (namely for me, I made some great progress on my grad school project). To reward ourselves, we went back out and had dinner at the fest.

Matt started with this. It was a garlic cheese bread.

The weather was yet again great, so the place was packed.

Mmm, cheesy.

Speaking of cheese, I had been wanting kasespatzle, the dish that my Dad didn't know he would love and so I had to force him to try. See what you're missing out on, Dad? This was a great batch.

Washed down with a glass of sekt as well.

Can anyone identify this one? I know it's not that much to look at, but I had passed far too many crepe stands not to get one with Nutella drizzled inside. Just superb.

Matt opted for the little doughy balls with powdered sugar on top.

We also hung around to hear some music. Two of the places where we tried were having technical difficulties, but these guys eventually got it together. Too bad it wasn't that good.

I wonder what I'll have for dinner this evening before the fireworks. Hmmm....

Hope everyone has a great week, happy Monday!

Also note: No posts until next Wednesday. Gotta get ready for my sister's visit!

Full re-cap on Monday of the fest!

Johannisnacht is starting now! Everything is setup and just about all stands are open. I'll take more pictures (and hopefully the sunshine comes out) but yay! Here is just one sliver of the action... it's all up and down the river.

Happy weekend everyone (and summer solstice)!

World Cup Fever!

So apparently the World Cup is a huge and enormous thing here.

I don't follow many sports, especially soccer - I mean, Fußball - so for my American friends who are with me in this, here are the basics on the World Cup:

• Takes place every 4 years in a different host country
• Involves 32 teams competing against each other in several arounds
• Will last approximately one month
• Most widely viewed sporting event in the world (more than the Olympics)

That's right, a month of matches daily. It started last week, so we've still got plenty more to go.

Germany played on Monday and won. Matt and I could hear the shouting from our apartment whenever they got a goal. And following the win for a few hours it was all kinds of car honking and general noise. What a thing this is.

The US also played on Monday and won. Since they're in the same initial grouping, they will play Germany too, and that will happen next Thursday the 26th.

Around town, everyone has really been getting into it. I suppose this guy is rooting for Germany - even his side mirror is into it. It's a pretty common sight.

There seem to be many more flags all over the place, and were especially prominent the day after Germany's first win.

Don't have cable? No problem - just head over to one of many grassy areas (pictured here), bars, or restaurants, because they have setup jumbo screens and TVs all over the place so you don't miss anything.

So... yay Fußball!

An afternoon walk through Neustadt in Mainz

We were fairly laid back and lazy all weekend, but it started out a little bit active with a walk. I know that sounds boring, but here walks are actually really great because there are so many pedestrian-only areas. Combined with nice sunny weather and a gentle breeze, you've got the makings of a relaxing and cheap outing.

On Friday afternoon, Matt took advantage of the pretty weather and joined me for a walk around neustadt (new city), an area of Mainz we usually don't go to that much. We actually live on the edge of the altstadt (old city) but neustadt is just across the bordering street.

The bordering street is called Kaiserstraße, and this is one of the main features - plenty of grass, flowers, and a church. Behind me is even more grassy area enclosed by trees on both sides and if you keep walking, you run into the train station. One of these days we'll bring a frisbee out and run around, I hope.

After crossing over, we saw how much more industrial the area was. Like many cities in Germany, it has that dour and drab construction that in some cases, is just ugly. Very gray and uniform, whereas the altstadt area of Mainz seems to have a little more color and variety. However, there were a few gems, like this beautiful synagogue. What awesome architecture!

Matt even found the oldest thing in the area, ruins. He gravitates to them. And to statues.

We also didn't realize how many parks were in the area. I didn't get a picture of it, but one had a great big kid's area, complete with crazy jungle gym, climbing stuff, and a mini water park! (We didn't want to be creepy adults taking pictures of children...)

After resisting the urge for ice cream, we walked home and continued to unwind on the lounge chairs on our balcony.

...and I made an Aperol Spritz for each of us as a pre-dinner drink.

This week is going to be semi challenging as I get the bulk of my final project ready for my grad school class. During the weekend I won't have any time - it's finally Johannisnacht time! On the way to the gym earlier today I saw them starting to set up, it's going to be a great festival!

And then my sister visits next week, wahoo!

Am I one of "those" people now?

For the past month I've been going to the gym 4-5 times a week to hit the treadmill. To run.

I'm running on the treadmill. I'm a runner. Sort of. Kind of. I can do it for three minutes at a time before I switch back down to a power-walking speed. I've been going back and forth between 6 or 6.1 mph and 3.5 and I'll do that for 30-45 minutes. No incline because I'd like to work on speed before I work on hilly-ness. Does that make me a runner? How many consecutive minutes do I have to run to be a runner?

I love it when I am done for the day. I'm a hot sweaty and gross mess of a thing. And then I walk home.

I hate it while it's happening. Like a lot.

I never learned how to run. They don't teach you how to breathe and pace yourself and where your arms go and your form. In the county where I went to high school, gym class was only for one year, and during that year there was only a few weeks where we had to run a mile. It didn't have to be fast or pretty, and it certainly wasn't either. But that's the extent of my (formal) physical education as far as running is concerned.

Pole dancing, yoga and other assorted dance classes is so much more fun for me. But I'm away from DC and all my favorite dancing and yoga people, so I find myself at the gym trudging along on the treadmill. I do have a barred window to look out of, though. Too bad it's facing the rest of an ugly army base.

That's right - I'm not even running outside. Germans are super fit and active, and I'd probably embarrass myself at the very least, and at the very worst I'd fall over and injure myself and all of a sudden not run at all anymore. And that's a shame, because I'm living in freaking Europe, next to the Rhine river. I'd love to be someone who could trot outside in the morning and join the secret club of all the people who run and jog along the leafy path next to the river. I hate those people. They seem to have their stuff together.

(Plus - where does one carry all of the things when running outside?! I have strategic locations on the treadmill for my water bottle, small towel, phone and headphones - and next to the treadmill is my purse with keys, cash, ID, etc - there's no way to carry all that when you're outside!)

Why in the world am I running you might ask? What would possess you to do this insane and ridiculous thing that so many people apparently enjoy? Are you constantly being chased by a large animal of some kind?

1. It's mentally challenging. Aside from grad school class, it's been difficult for me to keep my brain active on a regular basis, and I need some consistency in my day. I've been improving each week and it makes me happy to find that I'm not completely out of breath after two minutes (I can get up to three + now, yay me!). I'd love to be able to get to a point where I CAN go out for a run in the morning and knock it out really quickly and be back home having burned off enough calories to enjoy my drinks and meals the rest of the day.

2. Wine & other alcohol. Drinking can really make you sluggish, and the cardio of running has been helpful to combat the slow feeling.

3. Food. I've got to get the calories off because I get to eat so many amazing things here. And I'd like for my clothes to still fit me.

Seriously, I don't know if I'll ever like running but I like food too much not to run.

Isn't that why everyone else does it?

On that note, it's time for lunch.

Grad school update

I've got a few more weeks of my fifth class, Leadership and Decision Theory. Sometimes it's hard to get work done:

Either there's dinosaurs all over the place, it's too hot to do anything, or I'm distracted by super fun activities.

Or it's just right outside and there's no way I'm sitting infront of a computer screen.

But when I do buckle down, it's a pretty good class. My final project this time isn't a big long paper, either, it's a narrated powerpoint presentation. You know, because it's 2001.

It's actually not that bad though. I had to pick a business decision that went awry and analyze what happened. I picked the introduction of New Coke. I'm much farther along for this assignment than I have for past final projects. Luckily I haven't had too many impromptu trips or activities so I've been able to really concentrate on getting stuff done. I'm definitely on track to get everything turned in before my sister gets here at the end of the month, woo hoo!

I've also had some additional time for new recipes, like baked buffalo chicken with homemade blue cheese dressing....

Cheesy onion pork chops....

And beef burgundy.

One that I didn't get a picture of but turned out ahh-mazing, was what we had for dinner last night: chicken lettuce wraps. So great for when you don't want to turn the oven on during the heat waves. I found a yummy dipping sauce recipe and everything. Excellent.

Anyway, that's what's going on. Reading, writing and eating. And drinking refreshing beverages.

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

How to prepare and have a blast at Weinwanderungs (Wine Hikes!)

A weinwanderung is a great outdoor activity they have here in the spring and summer months. Some towns that have a lot of vineyards host the events, which consists of setting up tasting booths all through the vineyards as well as some food stands. Sometimes you pay a fee upfront so you can taste at each station, sometimes it's pay as you taste.

On Saturday, Matt and I went with a group to one we had hit last year. We paid a fee upfront and got a little glass. The glass held .1 liters, and there were 10 stands setup. Let's do the math together...Since a bottle of wine only holds .75 liters, it means we could drink more than a bottle of wine for 12 Euro. And have a cute glass!

Preparations
Things to bring:

• Water bottles (it's a good idea to fill up that .1 liter glass between stands. This saved me, especially when everyone started taking turns buying bottles...)
• Sunscreen (you're walking through a vineyard, where obviously there are no trees. The summer sun in Germany is vicious! Matt and I lathered up before we left the house.)
• Hand sanitizer or towelettes (the bathrooms are porta-potties at some of the stands)
• Extra snack (I had a nice Larabar with me in case a stand didn't have something I wanted to eat)
• Extra cash (for snacks at the stands - Matt and I had a delicious spundekas and pretzels, and a cake at another stand)
• Hat and sunglasses (to go with the sunscreen- it was quite hot on Saturday so the hat was especially useful)

Enjoying the day
At the start you got your glass and your booklet. At each stand when you pick your wine they stamp it, so at the end you feel like you accomplished more than drinking more than a bottle of wine.

 Pretty sweet dragon planter there.

 View from one of the stands.

 This kid had the right idea to cool off in this box of water. Plus he had his own lounge chair.

 Luckily, at most of the stands there were tents to shade us temporarily before we ventured on further.

 Here's me! I really like wine hikes when the weather is this good.

 Pretty!

Even if you're starting to get a little tipsy on the hike, just look for the bright colored signs to show you the trail. Otherwise you'll end up walking aimlessly around the vineyard.

 Hey, goats!

 I very much enjoy unicorns, so I was quite excited to see a bottle featuring one.

 Always a fun time :-)